Exploding NutriBullet blenders are leaving consumers with serious burns, lacerations, and other significant injuries and numerous personal injury lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturer. The force of the explosion is significant and can cause deforming injuries. Manufactured by Capital Brands, the devices may soon be banned for sale in the United States because of the increasing number of reports of injuries caused when the blenders fail.

Explosions Caused by Overheating

Many of the explosions occur as the result of the motor overheating. While the devices are equipped with a thermal cut-out that is designed to shut the device off if the motor overheats, this safety feature does not always work. The blender is designed to operate for 60 seconds. However, many users claim their devices have exploded before this point even when they are using the blender to mix liquids that are chilled or at room temperature.

As the motor heats up, it transfers thermal energy into the liquid within the plastic mixing container. This causes the liquid to expand which leads the plastic container to split open at the base or explode.

Injuries Caused by Explosive Failure

Explosive failure of the mixing container can eject plastic shards and hot liquid over a considerable distance. These can cause puncture wounds and thermal burn injuries to the hands, arms, chest, and face. This can cause permanent nerve damage, diminish the range of motion, and cause disfiguring injuries.

The explosive nature of the failure means that the risk of injury is considerable for anyone who is in the immediate vicinity. One of the most serious threats is from the blade itself. The blade can be ejected from the device with its sharp blades still spinning at high velocity. Should the blade strike flesh it can cause deep lacerations to tissue and cause severe personal injury to the face including eyes, noses, ears, lips, etc.

Nutribullet Knock Off’s

Many companies including Aldi and Lidl sell “knock off” copies of Nutribullet’s design. These are often even more dangerous because they are manufactured to a lower degree of quality and safety standards to keep the price lower. Moreover, they frequently contain the same design defects as the original. While the Consumer Product Safety Commission is busy investigating the safety of Nutribullet blenders, it remains unclear whether these knock-offs pose an even greater potential risk to users.